Murray man pleads guilty to killing man in drug house

A Murray man pleaded guilty Friday to killing another man a year ago in an ongoing dispute that escalated into gunfire in a Central City drug house.

Calvin L. Moore, 22, pleaded guilty to homicide by assault, a third-degree felony, in a plea bargain in 3rd District Court. He was charged with murder, a first-degree felony.Moore pleaded guilty to shooting Clifton Uckerman, 47, in the stomach and chest, killing him last May 14 in a house at 640 E. 300 South.

"I had a confrontation with Mr. Uckerman that led to me shooting him and killing him," Moore told Judge Leslie A. Lewis.

According to police, it wasn't the first time their dispute led to gunfire. Three days before, Moore shot Uckerman in the buttocks once after Uckerman threw hot wax on him, according to investigators. Uckerman was treated for the wound and released the same day.

The underlying cause of the dispute was a drug debt, according to investigators.

The house generated complaints to Salt Lake police for several months before the shooting. People complained of noise, fighting and traffic at all hours of the day and night, which led police to suspect drugs were being sold there.

The tenants of the house were later evicted and the home closed down.

Moore faces a prison term of zero to five years when he is sentenced July 9.